Soap holder



Sept. 13, 1955 E. T. WILMINGTON SOAP HOLDER Filed June 30, 1953 IN V ENTORI ATTORNEYS. 9

United States Patent SOAP HOLDER Edna T. Wilmington, Chicago, Ill.Application June 30, 1953, Serial No. 364,997

1 Claim. (Cl. 45-28) This invention relates to soap holders, and morespecifically to the provision of a soap holding device so constructedand formed as to hold a cake of soap in such a manner as to permitalmost the entire outside area thereof to be exposed to air for thepurpose of drying it.

A problem of long standing to householders, and one for which manypartial solutions have been proposed, arises because of the effect ofWater on a pressed cake of soap. It is well known that a cake of soapwhich is permitted to stand in water becomes soft and that the portionthereof which becomes soft is almost entirely wasted at the nextinstance of use of the cake of soap. This softening and wasting of thesoap takes place both when the soap is permitted to lie in a wash basinand when it is situated in a receptable which does not almost completelyfree the outside surface of the soap to the drying action of air.

It has become the practice to form devices, usually called soap dishes,with a grid or parallel ribs on the lower surface thereof to support abar of soap above the bottom. Such devices are partially successful andtend somewhat to alleviate the problem of the cake of soap resting in apool of water. However, these devices are not completely successfulbecause they tend to entrap soap and water, and mixtures thereof, insuch a fashion as to cause them to lose their effectiveness relativelyrapidly. As soon as the soap and water mixture is accumulated to aheight suflicient to touch the lower surface of the cake of soap as itis supported by the grid or ribs, the soap dish so formed has lost itsusefulness.

It is therefore an object. of this invention to provide a soap holderwhich will support a cake of soap in a manner which will free almost theentire outside surface of the cake of soap to the air for drying.

A further object is to provide a soap holder having attachment meansassociated therewith whereby the soap holder may be positioned on a washstand or an adjacent wall surface, either removably or permanently.

Further objects and advantages in my invention will be apparent from aconsideration of the following specification in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in perspective of a soap holder formed in accordancewith this invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section through the center line of the soapholder shown in Fig. l, and detailing the construction of an attachmentmeans,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of an attachment means similar to thatshown in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation and partially in section of a differentembodiment of the invention shown in the other figures.

As particularly shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the soap holder comprises abase portion 11 preferably of flowing convex line, and terminating in anannular ring 12 at its base. The ring 12 should engage the surface uponwhich the soap holder is to be situated, and is of plain formation forease of cleaning. It should be formed h 2,717,472 I PatentedSept. 13,,.1955

.- 2 of a resilient material so that it seals against the surface uponwhich the soap holder is mounted.

Above the base 11, and supported thereby, is a hump portion 13, shown ofconical configuration although it can be of cylindrical formation. Thehump portion 13 flows from the base 11 in a smooth curve, as at 14. Itholds the soap high and dry, and provides space under the soap in whichthe users hand may be inserted.

The upper end of the hump portion 13 is defined at the sloping shoulder15 which merges into the base 16 of the pin 17 which has a projectingend 18. The pin 17 is shown in the drawings as being substantiallyvertical. However, it has been determined that it is not absolutelynecessary to so position it, although it must extend above thehorizontal from the shoulder 15 and the hump portion 13.

The soap 19 suggested in Fig. 2 is impaled substantially at its centeron the pin 17. In constructions in which the base 11, the hump portion13 and the pin 17 are formed of a strong material, it is not necessaryto preform a hole in the cake of soap in order to impale it on the pin17. However, in case the soap is especially dry and hard, and thematerial from which the soap holder 10 is formed is somewhat frangible,it may be found advisable to preform a small cavity in the surface ofthe cake of soap to receive the pin 17.

The suction cup 20 has a cup portion 21 of the usual hemisphericalconformation, and is preferably formed of a suitable resilient material.Situated at the top of the cup 21 is a neck portion 22 which supports ahead 23.

A cavity 24 of a size adapted to receive the head 23 and the neck 22 isformed within and defined by the hump portion 13, and is situated foraccess from the rear side 25 of the base 11. Engagement of the suctioncup 20 on a flat horizontal surface, such as found on wash basins, willremovably position the soap holder 10 and increase its utility. Withcertain of the newer moldable materials, the base 11 and the cup 20 maybe molded in one piece.

A slightly different embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 4.There, a suction cup is shown holding a base 31 against a vertical sidewall 32. The suction cup 30 is formed with an attachment means 33adapted to mate with a cavity 34 formed in the base 31. Projectingsubstantially horizontally from the base 31 is the supporting arm.35upon the outer end 36 of which is mounted a hump portion 37. The hump 37terminates on its upper side in a shoulder 38 which merges with the base39 of a pin 40 having an upper point 41. The soap 42 is similarlyimpaled upon the pin 40. This embodiment of the invention is useful inholding soap adjacent vertical side walls, such as in shower baths andaround wash basins.

It is also contemplated that permanent attachment structure may besubstituted for the suction cups, whereby the soap holder is permanentlymounted in position on a plumbing fixture. A further variationcontemplates a soap holder having a single base portion and a pluralityof humps and pins whereby to hold several cakes of soap.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

A device for holding an imperforate soap bar, comprising a cup-shapedbase having a cavity therein on one side and an annular rim, a softresilient sealing ring mounted on said rim for engagement with asupporting surface, a soft resilient suction cup mounted on said base insaid cavity and projecting outwardly therefrom beyond said ring forengagement with the supporting surface, said suction cup being smallerin volume than said cavity and thereby being wholly receivable thereinwhen compressed to bring said sealing ring into engagement with thesupporting surface, a sharply tapering pointed conical stud on said basefor directly inipaling the imperforate soap References Cited in the fileof this patent bar, said stud being relatively short to prevent saidstud UNITED STATES PATENTS from passlng entlrely through the soap bar,and a member s of enlarged diameter on said base around the lower end624809 Q May 1899 of said stud forming a shoulder limiting penetrationof 5 2568714 Button SePt- 1951 said stud into said soap bar. 2586626Dunn 1952

